Baseball: Falcons take split with North Paulding, set for Game 3

DALLAS -- Flowery Branch came within a few outs of its second straight road playoff sweep on Wednesday.

Instead, the Falcons will have to wait until Thursday to see if they can push through to the state quarterfinals.

Flowery Branch defeated North Paulding 6-3 in Game 1 in Dallas and had the Wolfpack on the ropes in Game 2, leading 5-3 after five innings, only to watch North Paulding pull off a 7-5 comeback to force a Game 3 at 6 p.m. Thursday in Dallas.

"We've just got to come back tomorrow and play; you can't give a good team extra outs, and we did in that in Game 2 tonight," Falcons coach Scott Myers said.

Myers had not decided on a starting pitcher for Game 3 as of late Wednesday.

"It will be critical to make plays behind whoever we send out there on the mound," Myers said. "We've got to go score runs and outlast them, be prepared to swing the bats."

Justin Seabolt swung the bat well on Wednesday, going 6 for 8 in the doubleheader -- 3 for 4 in each game, including a double in Game 1. Stephen Skeggs also and Trey Groves also went 2 for 4 in the first contest, with Groves smacking a home run. Deuce Davidson also finished with a hit and three RBI.

Jonathan Huges earned the win on the mound in Game 1 for the Falcons (19-9), pitching a complete game and striking out nine.

Dylan Gibeau put together a strong performance in Game 2, pitching 5 2/3 innings and striking out nine. He also went 2 for 4 from the plate with 2 RBI, while Andrew Nolt was 2 for 4 with an RBI.